Second San Diego Location Of North Italia Grand Opens At One Paseo In Del Mar

June 5, 2019

From Arizona-based Fox Restaurant Concepts - the company that founded True Food Kitchen and operates such other San Diego restaurants as Flower Child in Del Mar and Blanco's Tacos & Tequila to Mission Valley - the second area location of casual Italian restaurant North Italia opens today within the newly minted One Paseo in Del Mar.

Now open, North Italia is dishing its signature, handcrafted Italian food at a new location in San Diego's luxury community of One Paseo. The beloved Fox Restaurant Concepts brand opened its first area location at Fashion Valley late last year, introducing diners to its fresh, handmade pasta, pizzas and small plates and vibrant, welcoming atmosphere. At 5,110 square-feet, North Italia One Paseo boasts a full bar and expansive indoor-outdoor dining room and patio, taking full advantage of the mixed-use center's ample outdoor space.

Chicken Parmesan
North Italia prides itself on creating every dish on its extensive menu using authentic ingredients, consistently delivering scratch-made Italian favorites. Serving lunch, dinner, weekday happy hour and weekend brunch, and offering rotating daily specials, menu highlights include the white truffle garlic bread with house made ricotta, mozzarella, grana Padano and fresh herbs; heirloom tomato & burrata served with basil pesto, charred tomato vinaigrette and grilled bread; house-specialty Bolognese served atop a bed of fresh tagliatelle noodles sprinkled with grana Padano; chicken Parmesan with crushed tomato, aged provolone, mozzarella and parmesan rigatoni; as well as the Margherita and Chef’s Daily Pizza and a selection of classic Italian desserts. North Italia also offers a kids' menu with a variety of childhood favorites, from spaghetti to grilled cheese.

The Amaro D'Amici
North Italia’s cocktail menu is crafted by Mat Snapp, Fox Restaurant Concepts’ beverage director. Popular signatures include the Sicilian Margarita with gran Centenario añejo, solerno blood orange, lime; Rosemary & Lime with Ketel One vodka, amaro nonino, rosemary angostura bitters, and smashed lime; and a summery Red Sangria with brandy, blood orange, red wine, strawberries, and lime juice. Guests can also sip on locally-crafted brews and a variety of red and white wines.

Sam Fox has owned more than 100 restaurants since dropping out of the University of Arizona when he was 20 years-old. The founder of Fox Restaurant Concepts, Fox is an eleven-time James Beard Award nominee for Restaurateur of the Year, and a New York Times best-selling cookbook author. He was also recently named one of the 50 most influential people in the restaurant industry by Nation’s Restaurant News for the second consecutive year, is the 2014 recipient of the Richard Melman Innovator of the Year Award by Restaurant Hospitality magazine, and the 2015 recipient of University of Arizona Executive of the Year by Eller College of Management. Since launching in 1998, Sam Fox’s Fox Restaurant Concepts has evolved to over a dozen different concepts spanning more than 60 locations, with no plan on slowing down. Fox owns a home in Coronado and splits his time between San Diego and Arizona.

Fox opened his first San Diego-based restaurant, True Food Kitchen at Fashion Valley Mall, in summer 2012, before selling the concept in 2017 to an investor group that includes Oprah Winfrey as a member. Fox Restaurant Concepts also opened Flower Child in Del Mar in late 2016, Blanco Tacos + Tequila in Fashion Valley Mall in mid-2018, and North Italia in Fashion Valley Mall last fall. Fox's North Italia and Flower Child concepts are in the process of being purchased by Cheesecake Factory Inc. Fox Restaurant Concepts is also in the process of opening The Henry all day restaurant and bar within the Coronado space that previously housed Costa Azul for two decades.

North Italia is located at 3715 Caminito Court, Ste. 680, within One Paseo in the Carmel Valley area of Del More and will operate Monday through Thursday from 11am to 9:30pm, Friday from 11am to 10:30pm, Saturday from 10am to 10:30pm and Sunday from 10am to 9:30pm. There will be brunch on the weekends from 10am to 4pm and happy hour during weekdays from 3-6pm. For more information, visit northitaliarestaurant.com, call 858.252.7720, and check out the photos below.